Tie string looper and folder



Aug. 12, 1958 D. M. CLYMER 2, 4 ,9

TIE STRING LOOPER AND FOLDER Filed April 23. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. Z DEWEY /1.CL YNER GENE YS United States Patent TIE STRINGLOOPER AND FOLDER Dewey M. Clymer, Reidsville, N. C., assignor to ChaseBag Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationApril 23, 1954, Serial No. 425,126

6 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) This invention relates to mechanical means forsewing a hem on a bag and at the same time incorporating therein acarrier string for supporting the bag and its contents.

An object of the invention is to create a mechanism which can be readilyand conveniently attached to a standard sewing machine.

Another object of the invention is to produce a device which will turnover the hem on the bag when the bag is inserted so as to enable theoperator to quickly and efficiently sew a hem in the bag.

Still another object is to manipulate the supporting string in the hemso that the seam of the hem will secure the supporting string in placeso that the latter cannot be readily pulled out of the hem.

Still another object is to produce a device which will automaticallymove the supporting string from one side of the sewing needle to theother at a point intermediate the ends of the seam so that string willbe on the outside of the seam near the mid-point of the seam, and to dothis automatically upon movement of the bag under the needle from thefront of the sewing machine toward the rear thereof.

While there is shown in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodimentof the invention, yet it is to be understood that the same issusceptible of modification and change without departing from the spiritof my invention.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an end view of the device of the invention attached to astandard sewing machine and looking toward the needle end of the sewingmachine head;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device shown attached to a sewing machineand looking from the front of the sewing machine;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a hemmed bag showing the supporting stringin the hem and its relation to the seam which secures the hem;

Fig. 5 is a section through 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section through 6-6 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is a section through 7-7 of Fig. 4.

Looking at the drawings, 1 represents the base of a sewing machine head,2 the vertical portion of the head which carries the needlereciprocating mechanism and the presser foot support mechanism, 3 thereciprocating needle support, 4 the presser foot supp0rt,-5 the needle,6 the tensioning device for the thread which forms the seam in the hemof the bag, 7 the presser foot and 8 the feed dogs. Herein the front ofthe sewing machine will be considered the side on which the operatorsits and the right side the operators right side.

The hemming attachment which is the subjectmatter of this invention issupported on bracket arm 10 (Figs. 2 and 3) which in turn is secured toadjustable supporting member 11 which is attached to the base of thehead of the sewing machine on the front portion thereof by ice in themember 11 and are threaded into suitable holes drilled into the base ofthe sewing machine head. This slotted arrangement permits a certainlongitudinal adjustment of the supporting member 11 on the base of thesewing machine head.

Attached to the bracket 10 is a metal guide plate 15 which is curledaround at its right end, as viewed from the front of the sewing machinewhen the hemming device is in place, so as to form a guide for the endof a. bag blank, which guide will turn over the hem on the end of theblank. It will be seen (Figs. 1 and 3) that the right end of the guideplate is first turned over 180 to form the top surface 16, which surfaceis approximately an inch or an inch and a quarter wide. This, of course,will depend on the width of the hem it is desired to put on the bag. Thesheet metal plate turns back toward the right, as viewed from the frontof the sewing machine, to form a surface 17 immediately under thesurface 16 and it is between these two surfaces that the hem of the bagis turned over as the bag is inserted by the operator, as will be morefully explained hereinafter.

The plate 15 is again turned back 180 on itself toward the left side ofthe mechanism to form still a third surface 18. All of these surfacesformed by bending the plate 15 back and forth are of approximately thesame width. The surface 16 is somewhat wider than the others becausesurfaces 17 and 18 are underneath the surface 16 and there has to besufficient room for the bag to pass between the right ends of surfaces17 and 18 and the. right end of the surface 16. Between surfaces 17 and18;

there is mounted a string carrier tube. As the name; would indicate,this is designed to carry the string which; passes through the hem. Thistube is shown at 20. The.- cylindrical tube itself which actuallyreceives the string; is attached to a flat plate 21 so that the tuberuns along,- one edge of the plate, as shown in Fig. 2. The flat plate:and tube are integral and form a single string guide piece which will becalled 22 (Fig. 3). This member 22 is supported between the surfaces 17and 18 on a pivot pin 23 so that it can pivot through a limited arc, asshown in the dot-dash lines and the solid lines of Fig. 3.

Attached to the left hand edge of the fiat member 21 of the member 22 isa bracket 25. At the left end this bracket is turned down, as shown at26, and is firmly secured to the fiat portion 21 of the string guidemember 22 so that movement of the bracket will cause movement of thestring guide member. The opposite or right end of the bracket 25 ispivotally secured to a link 30. The link 30 runs in the direction offront to rear of the sewing machine and substantially parallel to thepath of travel of the bag as the hem seam is sewn. The rear end of link31 is punched with a square hole 31 designed to means of screws 12 and13 which pass through a slot 14 receive a more or less vertical squarerod supporting member 33. This member is attached to the sewing machinehead 2 by suitable screws 34 and 35 (Fig. 1).. This square rodsupporting member is stationary and serves merely to guide the rear endof the link 30. It. will be seen that red 33 is equipped with a slopingpor-- tion 36. This slopes at approximately 45 and it is on this portionthat the rear end of the link 30 rides. Thesolid lines of Fig. 1 showthe link in its forward position and the dot-dash lines show it in itsrearward position.

A coil spring 40 secured at one end to member 15 at 41 is attached atits other end to link 30, as shown at 42. This coil spring is designedto urge the link 30 toward the front of the sewing machine, that is, inthe direction of the operator. The link 30 is also equipped with adownwardly extending toe member 43 designed to be engaged by the edge ofthe bag or end of the hem as thebag moves from the front toward the rearof the sewing machine through the sewing mechanism.

A sewn bag, B is shown in Figs. 4 to 7. The sewing operation has formedhem H. The supporting string is shown at S and the sewn seam is shown at50. It will be seen by the sectional drawings 5, 6 and 7 and by thedotted lines of Fig. 4 that the supporting string S in the hem 'isengaged by the seam t) midway between the two sides of the bag and thatactually the string 8 dips down (as shown in Fig. 4) below the seam St)for a short distance near the center of the bag hem. This serves tosecurely hold the supporting string S in place so that it cannotinadvertently be pulled out.

In operation, after the hemming device is properly adjusted in relationto the needle of the sewing machine, which adjustment can be readilyobtained by means of the slot 14 and screws 12 and 13, the operatormoves an open ended bag blank to the right along the plate 15 until theend is forced upwardly and backwardly to the left between the surfaces16 and 17, thus turning over a hem on the end of the bag blank. Thisoperation is accomplished with the rear edge of the bag blank forward ofthe needle which would make it substantially in registry with the rearedge of the metal guide plate 15. The operator then advances the bagblank from the front toward the rear of the sewing machine and bringsthe hem under the presser foot and reciprocating needle. During thispart of the operation the string S is in the position shown in the solidlines of 3, that is, the string holder is in a position with its rearend farthest to the right or, in other words, with the string projectingin a more or less straight line through the hem of the bag to the rightof the seam which the needle commences to sew. As the bag moves underthe needle advanced. by the cooperation of presser foot and feed dog ofthe sewing machine, the rear edge of the hem comes in contact with thedepressed toe 43 of the link 30 and begins to move the link 30 towardthe rear of the sewing machine, that is, to the left, as viewed in Fig.3.

Through bracket this motion of link 3% causes string carrier 22 to pivotabout 23 which in turn means that the rear end of the string supportingmember moves to the operators left or downwardly, as shown in thedot-dash lines of Fig. 3. This carries the string to the left of theseam which is being sewn by the needle 5 so that a portion of the stringis to the left of the seam, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. As the bagcontinues to advance toward the rear of the sewing machine, the rearedge of the hem which has engaged the depressed toe 43 slips under thattoe as it rises because the link rides up the inclined surface 36 of thebracket 33. This permits the link 30 with the depressed toe 43, ofcourse, to be drawn to the front of the sewing machine by the coilspring 40 which in turn brings the string carrying member back to itsnormal position, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 3, with the result thatthe string goes back to' the right side of the needle and is sewn insidethe hem, as shown at the right side of Fig. 4. Upon completion of theseam and hem it is only necessary for the operator to cut off theseaming thread and a suitable length of supporting string and the bag isthen ready to be filled from the opposite end with the contents thereof.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cloth folding and hem sewing attachment for. a sewing machinehaving a hem turning guide plate secured to the sewing machine proximateto the needle, a string guide for feeding string into said hem and meansfor moving said string guide across the path of the needle, theimprovement comprising contacting means for engaging and moving with theadvancing forward edge of the cloth being sewn, connecting meansattached to said contacting means and to said string guide fortransforming linear motion of said contacting means into motion of saidstring guide across the path of the needle from inside the hem tooutside the hem, disengaging means connected to said contacting meansfor disengaging said contacting means from the advancing forward edge ofthe cloth being sewn after a predetermined linear distance of travel ofsaid contacting means, and spring means for restoring upon suchdisengagement said contacting means to its original position and saidstring guide to its original position inside the hem.

2. In a cloth folding and hem sewing attachment for a sewing machinehaving a guide plate turned over at one end to form upper and lowerguide surfaces for a bag blank and so designed that upon insertion ofsaid blank between said guide surfaces a hem will be turned over on oneedge of said blank, and having a movable string guide normallypositioned to guide a string through the hem of the bag blank formed bythe guide plate, the improvement comprising pivot means forming a centerof rotation of said string guide, rotating means attached to said stringguide adapted to move said guide about said pivot means from a normalposition in which it feeds a string inside the hem to an outsideposition on the other side of the needle path, engaging means adapted toengage and be moved by the bag blank as it moves past the needle duringthe sewing of the hem seam, connecting means adapted to transmit themotion of said engaging means to said rotating means and thus move saidstring guide from its normal to its outside position, and spring meansadapted to return said guide to its normal position upon disengagementof said engaging means from said bag blank.

3. In a cloth folding and hem sewing attachment for a sewing machinehaving a guide plate turned over at one end to form upper and lowerguide surfaces for a bag blank and so designed that upon insertion ofsaid blank between said guide surfaces a hem will be turned over on oneedge of said blank, and having a movable string guide normallypositioned to guide a string through the hem of the bag blank formed bythe guide plate, the improvement for moving said string guide so thatthe string is moved from' its normal position inside the hem through theseam of the hem to an outside position and then back again while theseam is still being sewn on the hem comprising link means having adepressed toe member adapted to engage and move with one end of the hemas the bag blank goes past a sewing machine needle sewing the seam onthe hem, connecting means for translating the motion of said link meansinto motion of said string guide from said normal position to saidoutside position, disengaging means connected with said toe member fordisengaging said toe member from said end of the hem after apredetermined movement of said toe member and permitting said stringguide to return to said normal position.

4. In a cloth folding and hem sewing attachment for a sewing machinehaving a guide plate turned over at one' string guide about said pivotmeans, a spring biasingsaid link so as to place the string guide in itsnormal position, a depressed toe member on the link positioned tointercept and move with the edge of the bag blank as the bag blankadvances under a sewing needle which is sewing the seam in the hem andadapted by transmitting its movement to the movable link to rotate thestring guide about the pivot means, and guide means for said link.

5. In a sewing machine for folding over and sewing a hem in a cloth edgehaving a frame, a horizontal feed table attached thereto, a verticallyreciprocating needle piercing said feed table and carried by said frame,a hemmer guide plate for folding over said cloth edge attached to saidfeed table adjacent said needle, said guide plate-being ahoiizontalplate with oneedge bent over-= to create a J-shapedcross-section when cut by a plane perpendicular to the direction oftravel of cloth under the needle and being oriented to feed thefolded-over cloth edge to said needle, and a string guide horizontallymovable between the two layers of said folded-over cloth edge across thepath of the needle from a normal inner position on the side of theneedle path toward the fold to an outer position on the other side ofthe needle path, the improvement which shifts the guide from the innerto the outer position comprising a substantially vertical pivotsupporting said string guide and rigidly fixed with respect to theframe, thereby forming a center of rotation for said string guide, a toemember normally positioned in the path of the advancing edge of thecloth which has been sewn, link means connecting said string guide andsaid toe member for transforming linear rearward motion of said toemember to rotary motion of said string guide, said rotary motionbringing the string exit point from the normal inner position to theouter position, guiding means guiding said link means and allowinglinear rearward motion of the toe member from its normal position underpressure from said advancing edge, disengaging means for disengagingsaid toe member from said advancing edge after it hasadvanced far enoughto bring said string guide to the outer position, and spring means forreturning said toe member to its normal position and said string guideto its normal inner position also.

6. In a sewing machine for folding over and sewing a hem in a cloth edgehaving a frame; a horizontal feed table attached thereto; a verticallyreciprocating needle piercing said feed table and carried by said frame;a hemmer guide plate for folding over said cloth edge attached to saidfeed table adjacent said needle, said guide plate being a horizontalplate with one edge bent over to create a J-shaped cross-section whenout by a plane perpendicular to the direction of travel of cloth underthe needle and being oriented to feed the folded-over cloth edge to saidneedle; and a string guide horizontally movable between the two layersof said folded-over cloth edge across the path of the needle from anormal inner position on the side of the needle path toward the fold toan outer position on the other side of the needle path; the improvementwhich comprises a vertical pivot attached to and depending from thebent-over portion of said guide plate and supporting said string guide,thereby forming a center of rotation for said string guide; a firsthorizontal link rigidly attached to said string guide and substantiallyperpendicular to the direction of travel of cloth under the needle; asecond horizontal link substantially parallel to the direction of travelof cloth under the needle pivotally attached at one end to said firsthorizontal link at a point lying on the same side of said vertical pivotas the bend in the guide plate and having a hole at the other end; a camrod rigidly fastened to the frame and slidably piercing said hole; camsurfaces on said cam rod contacting the walls of said hole and inclinedup and to the rear of the machine; upper and lower end positions on saidsurfaces such that with the second link at the lower end position thestring guide lies on the same side of the path of the needle as the bendin the guide plate and with the second link at the upper end positionthe string guide lies on the opposite side of the path of the needle,and said second link lies higher above said feed table than in the firstposition; spring means biasing the second link toward the lower endposition; and a toe member attached to said second link and extendingdownward therefrom proximate to the surface of said horizontal feedtable at a point lying in the path of cloth emerging from under theneedle when said second link is so biased, said toe member participatingin said second links rise from said first to said second position andthus said toe member rising from said point in the path of clothemerging from under the needle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,277,004 Weis Aug. 27, 1918 2,249,377 Duncan et a1 July 15, 19412,339,653 Sailer Jan. 18, 1944 2,343,025 Prophet Feb. 25, 1944

